RIP Big Bank Hank

[Serbbral]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.2006778

Big Bank Hank of The Sugarhill Gang is dead at 57

The artist whose real name was Henry Jackson passed away at about 2 a.m. Tuesday in the New York City area. A founding member of 1980s revolutionary hip hop group The Sugarhill Gang, Big Bank Hank was best known for his verses on 'Rapper's Delight,' which was No. 248 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

BY MARC WEINREICH
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 12:19 PM
Updated: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 12:53 PM

MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

Big Bank Hank of The Sugarhill Gang, real name Henry Jackson, died Tuesday.
Big Bank Hank, one of the founding members of iconic 1980s hip hop group The Sugarhill Gang, died early Tuesday morning after a battle with cancer. He was 57.
The news was first reported by music blog InFlexWeTrust.com. TMZ reported that the rapper — born Henry Jackson on Aug. 5, 1957, in the Bronx — died at about 2 a.m. Tuesday in the greater New York City area.
“So sad to hear of our brother’s passing,” wrote fellow group members Wonder Mike and Master Gee in a statement to TMZ.

MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES

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MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES

EnlargeThe Sugarhill Gang quickly rose to fame in the 1980s with their hit, 'Rapper's Delight,' and left a legacy as one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time.


Hank’s Sugarhill Gang, which was named after the Sugar Hill neighborood in Manhattan, made music history in 1979 when their single “Rapper’s Delight” became the first hip hop track to be listed in the Top 40 charts in the United States.
The track is widely considered to be the first song to popularize hip hop. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 248 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and it came in at No. 2 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.

JEAN BAPTISTE LACROIX/WIREIMAGE

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ISAAC BREKKEN/WIREIMAGE

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MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES

EnlargeHenry Jackson loved to rap about trying to steal Lois Lane away from Superman.


Hank, known in his songs as "the grandmaster with 3 MCs that shock the house for the young ladies,” rapped in his verses about competing with Superman for Lois Lane.
The Sugarhill Gang, a seminal hip group in music history, had five studio albums including their 1980 self-titled record. The group released its last one, "Jump on It!," a hip hop children's album, in 1999.

[Scribetastic]

I heard about this on Sunday.

I'm proud to say, like many folks who were kids at the time, I knew the words to Rapper's Delight by heart!

RIP Big Bank Hank.

[MommieDearest]

NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!




I was in high school when Rapper's Delight came out, and my friends and I would recite the entire song (LONG version) word-for-word in the locker room at gym class. I can still remember most of the words now!

IMO real rap died long ago, but with Hank's untimely passing (57 is YOUNG!!!!) it feels like the end of an era. The Sugar Hill Gang brought rap to the mainstream. Shortly after that, (or maybe before??) Teena Marie came out with "Square Biz," the first mainstream rap song by a woman. I still know all the words to that too.

Thanks for the memories Hank. God rest your soul.

[Fuzziwuz]

RIP. 57 Is young.

....the first mainstream rap song by a woman.

Blondie - Rapture.

[MommieDearest]

RIP. 57 Is young.

Blondie - Rapture.

Actually, we're both wrong.

Rapture (I forgot about that- I LOVED that song!) was released in 1980, but Sequence released "Funk You Up" in 1979. I remember the group and the song, but for some reason I thought Square Biz came out before them (it came out in 1981). "Funk You Up" was my JAM!!!! Angie B's (aka Angie Stone) verse was my favorite.

[meagan22]

Sad news

R.I.P., Henry.

[underthehood]

IMO real rap died long ago, but with Hank's untimely passing (57 is YOUNG!!!!) it feels like the end of an era.

I'm in my 20's and I agree. I (unfortunately) didn't grow up with the music like a lot of you but it's great discovering old school rap (and hip hop). The (mainstream) stuff today is crap, but classics never die.